OTP frauds surge across Telangana; cybercrime asks public to beware

Hyderabad: The Telangana cybercrime, on Monday, November 24, issued a caution to citizens over the sharp rise in OTP-related frauds, with scammers increasingly using deceptive calls, SMS, WhatsApp messages, fake customer-care numbers and phishing websites to gain access to bank accounts and digital wallets.

According to officials, once the OTP is obtained, fraudsters are able to make unauthorised transactions, access personal data and cause significant financial loss.

“Fraudsters are using several methods, including posing as bank representatives and seeking OTPs under the pretext of debit/credit card activation, KYC updates or account verification. Scammers are also offering fake refunds, cashback and reward points to extract OTPs from unsuspecting victims,” they said.

Officials said that citizens searching for customer-care numbers on Google often end up calling fraudsters, who then seek OTPs to “reverse transactions” or “verify details.”

Cybercrime police further warned that fraudsters are impersonating e-commerce delivery executives and online marketplace agents, asking victims to share OTPs under the guise of verifying return or refund requests.

People have been asked to avoid responding to unknown calls or messages, verify customer-care numbers only from official websites, avoid sharing screenshots containing OTPs and enable SIM locks, device locks and bank transaction alerts.

Citizens have been advised to report suspected cases to the National Cybercrime Helpline 1930 or lodge complaints on cybercrime.gov.in (click here).